Projects of the Month

The pilgrims in Fatima who arrived early on 13th September at the Chapel of the Apparitions were greeted with a somewhat unusual sight - a statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague being carried in the arms of a religious sister in front of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. This image of the Christ Child, dressed as King in festive white robes, was later that day to enjoy a great triumph when, at the end of the Solemn Holy Mass on the square of the Fatima shrine, it was solemnly presented by Cardinal Dominik Duka, the Archbishop of Prague, to Bishop António Augusto dos Santos Marto of Leiria-Fatima, in whose diocese the famous Fatima shrine is of course situated.

This pilgrimage to Fatima by Czech Catholics to mark the hundredth anniversary of the apparitions there was in fact the second national pilgrimage to Fatima organised by the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, and on this occasion 1,300 pilgrims, including the entire Czech bishops‘ conference, dozens of priests and religious and hundreds of ordinary Catholic faithful, had made their way to the renowned Marian shrine in Portugal, whose story is so closely linked to the recent history of the former Eastern Bloc. Cardinal Duka recalled the fact that the people of the Czech Republic had previously come on pilgrimage to Fatima in 1989 to give thanks for their regained freedom. This time they were here to give thanks "for a new generation that has never known the prison of National Socialism, the prison of communism or persecution for their faith."

As an "expression of gratitude", the Cardinal solemnly presented to the bishop the replica statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, solemnly blessed at the shrine in Prague, as a special gift from the Catholics of the Czech Republic to the shrine in Fatima. "The Infant Jesus is the patron of all his friends", said the Cardinal, recalling that Pope Benedict XVI had also visited the world-famous shrine of the Infant Jesus during his visit to Prague.

In fact the fate of the Jezulatko, as the little statue of the Infant Jesus is known to the Czech people, has been closely bound up with the message of Fatima during the past century. For it was in 1917 - exactly 100 years ago - that Our Blessed Lady predicted the October Revolution in Russia and the Second World War. The consequence was an unprecedented persecution of the Church. After the Second World War, what was then still Czechoslovakia also fell under the communist yoke and witnessed one of the worst persecutions in Eastern Europe. Thousands of priests and religious were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms and forced labour, churches and religious houses were closed down and desecrated, and the practice of the Faith severely restricted. For years, the image of the Infant Jesus of Prague was left abandoned and alone on its altar in a desolate and ransacked church.

“It is thanks to the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that we are able to live in freedom today”, Cardinal Duka declared in front of thousands of pilgrims in Fatima. Afterwards, the Czech pilgrims were allowed to take home with them a pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima, and immediately on their return this statue was welcomed with a solemn Holy Mass in Prague‘s St Vitus Cathedral and then carried in solemn procession through the streets of Prague and also right past the convent of the Discalced Carmelite Sisters.

These Carmelite sisters, who live in strict enclosure, never leave their convent, yet their prayer spans the whole world. The fact that young Carmelite sisters are once again living in this convent is one of the most beautiful fruits of the Triumph of Mary‘s Immaculate Heart. For in 1950 the Carmelites were forcibly ejected from their convent and forced to work in factories. Only five very elderly Carmelite nuns survived long enough to witness the political changes in 1989; all of them have since died. Yet by the grace of God, and doubtless also through the courageous witness of their lives and of their faith, new vocations followed and a number of young women have joined the Carmelite community. The six nuns who today live in the Saint Joseph‘s convent devote themselves entirely to prayer, bringing before God among other things the cares and needs of those people who sometimes do not even know how to pray for themselves.

Among other things, the sisters produce religious and devotional items and artwork, which they sell in a small shop. Other than this, they have little opportunity of providing for their own income - which is why the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is helping them again this year, with a contribution of $6,500 to support their life and prayer apostolate.

The vital work of Catholic charities like Aid to the Church In Need provide a lifeline to the Church wherever she is poor, persecuted or threatened. Please help our work by donating online or send your donation to Aid to the Church in Need, PO Box 7246 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153. Ph: (02) 9679-1929